Second Best by David Foenkinos imagines the life of the young actor who was runner-up for choice of the character of Harry Potter in the 8 movies following the success of the books by J K Rowling. Martin Hill is ten years old, crazy about Arsenal and through no real desire of his own makes it to the final two in the casting for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In the end, the other boy is picked and a devastated Martin tries to move on with his life. Whether you loved Harry Potter or not this book deals brilliantly with rebuilding life after huge disappointment and supposed failure. Translated from French by Megan Jones.
